Chrono Break
by VidgamerX
Summary: The third and final story of the Chrono series as it follows the adventure of Omega Zeal, King of the magical Kingdom of Zeal, as he sets out to find his family and stop Lavos once and for all...Chapter 11 finished! R&R please! Finally updated it too.
1. Intoduction

A/N: This is the sequel the Chrono Cross, as I have pictured it. Omega Zeal is my creation, but all characters from either of the Other Chrono games belong to Squaresoft.

My name is Omega Zeal, King of the kingdom once known as Zeal. I am writing this, because tomorrow may be my last day alive.

This is my last chance to capture the important events of my life. Perhaps I should start with the fateful encounter that set all these things in motion.

Things had been going well in my kingdom. But one day, myself as well as the gurus, noticed a odd change in my wife's behavior. She was more easily angered, and seemed to put off her family. Without her knowing, I worked with the gurus in an attempt to discover what had made her change so suddenly.

During this time, she ordered construction of a building under the ocean's surface. Obviously, we were running out of time. But we finally discovered the cause of her change.

She was being controlled by a being of incredible power, whose name I later discovered, was Lavos. The Undersea Palace she had ordered to build was apparently to get closer to Lavos. But with the gurus, I discovered that the beast lying dormant inside the planet was not the true source. It was a being created by the TRUE Lavos, a creature existing between time and dimension.

I knew we had little time, so once again, with the help of the gurus, a portal was opened leading to where the True Lavos resided. I entered wearing my full armor, the Prism armor along with my sword, the Omega Blade. Shimmering with the colors of the rainbow, I confronted Lavos. His power was beyond anything I had ever felt, yet somehow, I was able to get back up each time I was knocked down. after an incredibly intense battle, in a sudden burst of rage, I charged Lavos hitting him with my sword using all the strength I could muster.

There was a loud crack, then an incredible rushing wind. As I looked around, thousands of portal had suddenly appeared. I looked back at Lavos. His armor, which seemed to be his skin actually, had three parts broken from it. One from each shoulder, and a piece from his chest. The piece from his chest flew towards me, and hit me in my own chest. As it did so, it absorbed itself into me.

The other two pieces went into different portals, as did I and my sword. When I awoke, I was in a strange land. I spent the next few years travelling between different times and dimensions, searching for my family. Then I entered another world, and soon found it to be my home world...


	2. Following History

I emerged from the portal, and surveyed my surroundings. It looked quite similar to the world I had just left. But, I needed to explore before I could determine whether this was my world or not.

I had been searching for so long, I sometimes felt as though I was wasting my time. But every time I helped someone, or stopped a monster from causing trouble, it helped me think that my journey was not without worth.

I was in a mountain, though by the temperature, it must've been summer. I proceeded down the mountain and noticed a fair ensuing not far away. "Perhaps a little entertainment would be nice for a change." I said as I headed in that direction. One of the attractions was a soda drinking contest. Quite thirsty, I entered thinking that I was thirsty enough to win. And win I did. I was given a few 'points' which I could use at other attractions. As I left the stand, I stopped to look at the large bell in the center of the area. As I did so, I saw a young boy inadvertantly run into a young girl. At first I thought he had run into her on purpose so he could flirt, they were young after all.

I stayed at the fair for perhaps an hour or so. And I saw the boy and girl running to and from the whole time. As I was about to leave, there was an announcement of an invention being finished, so I decided to check it out. Another young lady and her father had made a machine that could transport a person from one point to another instantly! The young boy was here with the girl as well. He volunteered to test out the contraption. It seemed to work just fine. The boy appeared back in the second 'pod'. I left at this point, thinking nothing else of interest was going to happen there. I had not quite reached the entrance of the fair, when I heard a scream!

I ran back to where the invention was, as that was the direction in which I had heard the scream originate. Yet, when i had reached the place, noone was to be found except the inventor's father, whose named I learned was Taban. I asked what had happened, and he told me that the next person who tried the machine dissappeared. Apparently it was the young girl I had seen all that afternoon. Taban said that the boy quickly chose to follow her, and that his daughter, Lucca, had left to try to find a way to follow the others(since the reaction was caused by the pendant). When he mentioned the pendant, he said it looked much like my own.

Being the type of person who tends to help those in need, I decided to follow as well. Taban started up the machine, and I stepped on the platform. To my astonishment, a portal, exactly like the ones I use opened, and pulled me in.

I appeared in a desolate place. Blackness as far as I could see. I was standing on a wooden platform with nine pillars of light. Ahead of me was a bridge to another platform made of brick. There I saw two figures, one of which looked quite similar to myself. He had long blue colored hair, and his facial features were very sharp. He wore a blue cape and carried a large scythe. He looked as though he had been tainted by evil.

I started toward them, and the blue haired figure walked past me, completely ignoring my presence. He stepped into one of the pillars of light and disappeared. I approached the other figure, and soon realized who it was.

"Gaspar!" I exclaimed. "What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Ah, Omega. I never thought I'd see you again! What a pleasant surprise!" replied Gaspar. "After you left, the Queen did get worse as we thought. The Undersea Palace was finished and she created a machine to draw energy from Lavos. She forced Schala to power the machine. She then took the machine to the Palace upon its completion. Myself and the other gurus, followed to try and stop her. Unfortunately, by using that machine, she awakened the sleeping beast! A small group of people came and fought it, but they were unable to stop it at the time. But, your son had come from the future and attempted to stop the beast. He too failed. Lavos then attempted to absorb them all, but the leader of those who came to fight, Chrono I believe was his name, sacrificed himself to save the others. We arrived about this time. Numerous time portals appeared around all of us, drawing us in. I saw the other two gurus, and Janus dragged through portals before I, myself was pulled in as well. And, hey! This is where I found myself."

I looked down, filled with guilt that I was not able to stop this and save my family. Gaspar could tell how I felt. He always could.

"Do not be dismayed, Omega. They were able to save Chrono and beat the beast. Along with your son's help as well. He is still alive. Actually, that was him I was just speaking with."

"What?!" I exclaimed, cutting him off.

"He has spent most of his life fighting Lavos and searching for Schala. Do not blame yourself, Omega. You haven't been the only one who has tried to stop Lavos." said Gaspar.

"So I am home...Perhaps if I can find this 'Chrono' and the others who fought and destroyed the Lavos beast, they could help stop Lavos once and for all!" I said, mostly to myself.

"True, but be careful. Time is fragile, and if you interfere with their lives at a point before they beat Lavos, things could drastically change for the worse. You must seek them out in a time after they beat Lavos, understand?" asked Gaspar.

"Yes, I understand." I answered.

"Look hard, and you may find many allies." said Gaspar before he began dozing off.

"But..." I stopped, not wanting to wake him up.

Out of a nearby door came an odd looking creature, that looked like an armed soldier with a mace. He told me his name was Spekkio, the master of war. I asked him about the pillars of light, and he explained that they were paths to different time periods that had seemingly been created by Lavos. I thanked him, and proceeded into one pillar, wondering where I would find myself.

When I reappeared, I was in a futureistic building, which seemed quite abandoned. Behind me was a door bearing my family crest! Curious, I used my pendant to open the door. Unfortunately, there was nothing of interest on the other side. I left the building and entered a harsh destroyed world. I had seen this kind of world before, and I already knew that cause of it. Ahead of me, I could make out three people. They were the two people I saw at the fair, along with Lucca. I began to follow them thinking that perhaps the boy was Chrono or a friend of his. Why else could they be time travelling?

Before too long, I felt an urge to head east, away from the small group of people. I decided to follow my instincts and head east. I made my way through a sewer, which I found out was quite hazardous to anyone making sound. I had to fight through a number of 'fish-people' that appeared each time I made a noise. They were more annoying than dangerous, due to their frequent encounters. Upon exiting the sewer, I entered the nearby domed building. I instanly recognized Belthasar's work. He had been trying to build a time machine, and I could see various drawings and blueprints, though I couldn't find Belthasar himself. I decided to take a quick nap, perhaps he was outside at the time.


	3. The Fateful Meeting

I awoke to a loud noise. Someone was coming inside the building, but there were multiple voices. I decided to hide, should it not be Belthasar. I saw Lucca, the young blonde, and a frog-man walk inside. Listening in on their conversation, he discovered that they were headed for the nearby mountain to find a way to bring back Chrono.

Apparently, this was a point in time after they had fought Lavos at the Underground Palace. They were looking for a way to bring him back. As I watched, a Nu came out of a doorway I had not noticed earlier. It said that it was Belthasar! It seemed that his time came sooner than he had anticipated, and he had put his 'consciousness' into the Nu to complete his work.

That meant that he had finished the Epoch! I was glad to hear that he had finished it, as he was always working on it in one way or another. He told them that they needed a duplicate of Chrono if they wanted to save him. After they thought about it for a little while, the young blonde suddenly jumped up and down in excitement. "I know where!" she exclaimed. They then left to find a 'clone'. I decided to follow out of curiousity.

I followed them to the year 1000A.D., which was the time period in which I had first arrived. They went back to the fair, and completed a game in a large tent, winning a 'doll' that looked like Chrono. Exaclty like him, in fact! They then hurried back to the future. Before following them though, I noticed another person I recognized.

"Melchior! How goes the weapon business?" I said as I came up behind him.

"Who? Omega! How wonderful to see you! How are you?" said Melchior.

"Well things are beginning to look up. I have made it back to my home world. Now I just need to find my children and stop Lavos for good." I told him.

"Well, perhaps this could help you on your journey." said Melchior as he handed me a Ruby Dagger. "It can suppress an immense power for a brief moment."

"Thank you, Melchior."

"Of course, and how is your Omega Blade?"

"Lost in my battle with Lavos." I said grimly.

"That sword is a part of you, Omega. If you truly search for it, you will find it."

"Thanks. It was good to see you again." I said as I left to follow the group back to 'Death Peak' as it was called.

I caught up to the group, but stayed far enough behind to avoid detection. On the trek up the dangerous peak, they encountered three Lavos spawn. Luckily they were young and easily defeated. They made it up to the top of the peak, where a lone tree stood. There the blonde used an egg-shaped object, and a minute later, the red-haired Chrono appeared! He seemed a bit confused, but from what I remember as was told me, he probably last saw Lavos before reappearing here.

After a brief reunion, they promptly left the peak. I stayed. Suddenly, out of nowhere a person appeared. It was me! Or so I thought. It turned out that it was an alternate version of myself from another dimension. He told me that he was travelling from dimension to dimension, challenging his 'doubles' and absorbing their powers upon their defeat. He said that I was the only duplicate that he had not yet absorbed. Obviously I was in for quite a fight.

I unsheathed my weapon and charged at him.(Since he bore the same name as I, I will refer to him a 'Z') When I was within reach, I performed an upward slash. But he had disappeared! He reappeared behind me with a grin on his face. I spun around a swumg powerfully with my sword. He disappeared once again and as he reappeared behind me, he struck me with the hilt of his sword, sending me flying almost off the peak of the mountain.

Such a powerful blow nearly left me unconscious. He approached and put the sword to my neck. "Pathetic." Z said. "You seem to have much power in you, yet you were so easily beaten."

"If I had my Omega Blade, I would not be beaten so easily." I responded.

He seemed amused at the statement. "Very well." he said as he put his sword back in its sheath. "I'll let you get this weapon. Once you do, I'll find you and we can try this again." he then dissappeared as quickly as he had first appeared.

I slowly got back on my feet. If he indeed had taken the power of every alternate version of myself, what true power did he have? And could there be someway I could convince him to help me stop Lavos? Only time would tell...


	4. The First Ally

After resting for a moment to regain my bearings from the powerful blow, I headed down the mountain. At the base of the mountain, I sat down began to meditate. It was time for me to find my sword. After an hour or so, I stopped meditating. I could not feel the presence of my sword. Apparently it wasn't in this time period, though for some reason I could not understand, I felt that it was in this world somewhere. I retraced my steps to the portal and stepped through, returning to the end of time.

As soon as I made it to the small platform, Spekkio was there waiting to speak with me.

"What was that power?" he asked me.

"It was an alternate version of myself from another dimension." I replied. "He told me that he was travelling through dimensions, absorbing the power of all his doubles."

"That explains the sensation I felt." said Spekkio. "Which reminds me, I felt something that seemed to be you. Not your double, that was a different feeling, but this one was coming from the portal to 1000 A.D. Would you have any idea what it could be?"

"My Omega Blade!" I said. "Thank you Spekkio. You've helped me a lot." I said as I hurried to the portal leading to 1000 A.D.

I emerged back at the Fair, which was was winding down by now. I walked a little ways out of town, so that I wouldn't be disturbed while meditating.

About an hour later, I could feel my weapon's presence somewhere to the southeast. I travelled across a bridge and came to the town of Porre. I was able to get a ride on a boat to the El Nido Archipelago. My sword was apparently hidden somewhere in this area, though by the weak feeling of it, I came to believe that the time I was in wasn't right, but close.

I arrived in the city of Termina. Not wanting to attract attention for what I was about to do, I left town and headed for a nearby forest. Once there, I used to power of my amulet to travel to the time in which I would find my sword. Things seemed to be the same after the time change, but I headed back to Termina to find out what time I had travelled to. Reading a newspaper, I found that I was now in 1023 A.D. At this time, I left for the small village of Arni, since I could find a small boat for travel amongst the Islands of El Nido.

When I arrived at the dock, I noticed a young man. His bright blue hair caught my attention. Apparently my own blue hair caught his attention as well. He walked over to me and introduced himself.

"Hello, stranger. I'm Serge, the chief of Arni Village. What brings you to these parts?" he asked.

"Hello. My name is Omega Zeal. I am searching for a weapon of mine that was lost. I need it to defend myself from...uh, a fellow who attacked me not too long ago." I replied.

"Perhaps I can help, if you don't mind?"

"I would very much appreciate it. I believe my weapon is hidden on one of these islands."

"I have a friend who owns a boat. I should be able to have it here by tomorrow morning. Feel free to stay here for the night."

"Thank you." I said. Serge showed me to a room, where I took a long-awaited rest from my journey. As I laid on the bed, I thought about the recent events. I had finally found my home. I had even seen my son, though only for a brief moment. I was relieved that he was alive, and though I did not know it, I felt as though Schala was alive somewhere as well. The only thing that truly worried me at the moment was 'Z'. What was the purpose for obtaining the power of his doubles? Was he trying to gain power to stop Lavos? Or was he more like Lavos in nature, seeking to obtain the ultimate power? There was much I wondered about him. Then there was my wife, Queen Zeal. I almost feared the worst for her. The way she had degenerated by Lavos seeping his control over her. By now, I assumed that she was dead. If she was not dead in body, surley she was in mind. It pained me to think that I was unable to save her from Lavos. I may have lost my wife, but I would make sure not to lose my children to him."

Serge woke me the next morning, letting me know that the boatr was ready and there was breakfast on the table, so I could eat before we departed. I thanked him for the food, and again for the means of travel. After a hearty meal, I met him at the boat where he introduced me to a frined of his, named Korcha.

"Nice to meetCHA!" he said.

"Good to meet you as well." I replied.

Since I was unsure of which Island my sword was on, Serge said we would search each isle for it. I was glad he was so willing to help me. While on our way to the Water Dragon Isle, Serge mentioned that my last name sounded familiar. I proceeded to tell him that I was actually on a quest to destroy Lavos. His eyes widened when I mentioned Lavos. He that he and his firends had beaten Lavos, saving a girl named Schala. Obviously, this caught my attention. I asked for the details of the battle, and he happily told me. I told him that what he and his friends destroyed was the remnant of the Lavos beast sent to this world. I asked if he had seen Schala after the battle, but he said he had never seen her since. He said that he recognized my last name because someone he was looking for had the same last name. Kid Zeal was her name. I told Serge that I did not recognize the name, but that I would try to help him find her. He thanked me and then offered to join me in my quest. He said that now that he knew that Lavos was still alive, he had to help do what he could to stop him.

Very interesting I though to myself. The Lavos beast was beaten not once, but twice! And by two different groups of people at that. Perhaps I would be able to bring them all together for the assault upon Lavos. That would give us the greatest chance to stop him. Things were definetly looking up now!


	5. The Dwarves Revenge

We had arrived at the Water Dragon Isle. Korcha stayed at the shore with the boat while Serge and myself continued inland. The island was most beautiful. Water was everywhere, and it was so clear that you could see to the very bottom. We hopped across a pond using suprisingly strong lilypads. In the next area, Serge stopped and had a strange look on his face.

"There should be fairies here." he said quietly.

At this point, I noticed that there wasn't any sound at all, not even the sound of wind. We both drew out our weapons, sensing danger ahead. We went into the cave at the back of the isle, noting that the water near the cave was green, and filled with muck. Upon entering, we saw a few small dwarf-men.

"What are they doing here?!" shouted Serge.

Unfortunately that attracted quite a number of the little fellows, and they weren't too pleased to see us. They all were brandishing shovels, hammers, and pickaxes. Obviously, they liked to do more than mine with the tools. About a dozen or so attacked us while the rest ran to warn the others.

"They won't be hard to beat." said Serge as he charged at one, performing his Dash&Slash attack.

But, all twelve Dwarves, blocked the attack! They were combining their defenses.

"You beat us once, but not twice!" they said in unison as they all attacked us simultaneously.

Before we knew it, hammers, shovels and the flat side of pickaxes were hitting us from all sides. Once we were able to pull away from their attack, I tried one of my own. I cast Ice in the air, jumped up, and swung my sword to the ground through the Ice spell. My sword hit the ground amongst the Dwarves with a loud CRACK as shards of ice went flying in all directions. Apparently, the Dwarves were accustomed to the cold, as the attack didn't seem to affect them. Serga then told me to stand back for his next attack. Serge stretched hims arms out to the side and began hovering in the air about a foot or so. "Luminaire!" he shouted as a sphere of powerful electricity quickly expanded from him. When it hit the Dwarves, we could see the electricity arcing through their bodies as they flailed around from the attack. After the attack though, they just laughed.

"Hahahahhahahah!!! Thank you for the charge!" they shouted.

"They couldn't absorb electricity before." said Serge with a confused look on his face.

"After what you did last time, we began training more!" said one of the Dwarves.

They hurriedly formed a circle around us and before we could move, electricity was moving from each Dwarf to every other Dwarf, many of the 'lines' passing through us. Soon, all the electricity formed in a sphere around Serge and myself, then promptly exploded, sending sparks everywhere, as well as hurting the both of us quite a bit.

"Time to go all out." I said to Serge, who replied with a simple nod of his head.

I began a charge at one of the Dwarves, performing a Dash&Slash of my own. As expected, the Dwarves gathered close to block my attack. At that moment, Serge cast Aeroblast right into the middle of the bunch, sending them to the ground. I then jumped into the air, and stabbed my sword into the ground in the middle of the Dwarves. As my sword hit, it cast Bushbasher, sending the dozen Dwarves flying in all directions.

"I don't know why or how they came back, but this time will be the last." said Serge.

"They seem to be quite crafty, and I have a feeling that they won't be getting any easier to beat." I replied.

We then continued down to the lower level, where another dozen Dwarves were ready to fight us. Before we could attack, they cast Anit-Green on us, preventing us from exploiting their weakness. We both readied to charge, and once again, the Dwarves formed a tight group to block the attack. Serge and I then rushed forward and used X-Strike. Luckily for us, the attack was too strong for the Dwarves to block, and the attack sent them flying in all directions as well as cutting two of them in half. They formed another tight group and cast Thundastorm, zapping us once again. We used X-Strike again, seeing as how it was effective against their defenses. Two more Dwarves were cleaved in half, leaving eight. They formed another group and cast Earthquake, causing massive chunks of the ground to rise up and smash us. At this rate they would beat us first, so we had to change our strategy. I attacked next with a cyclone attack. Holding my sword outstretched in front of me, I began to spin rapidly. I leaned back as I spun faster, so as to put more power into the attack. I then manuevered to the Dwarves spinning rapidly. They gathered together to block my attack. Though my attack was not pressing through their defenses, I continued to press against them, forcing them to strain themselves blocking. Serge ran behind them and used Dash&Slash. The force of the attack sandwiched the Dwarves between the two attacks, effectively killing six of them. The remaining two ran into the deepest part of the cave.

"Here." said Serge as he handed me an elixer, and drank one himself.

We then proceeded into the last part of the cave, where the Dwarves were going to make their last stand. They would have a good chance too. There may have only been three Dwarves, but the third one was in a most impressive war machine, that appeared to be very well built.

"You ready?" I asked Serge.

"Of course." he replied with a stern determined look on his face.

The war machine looked like a tall tank, with spikes on the front of it, two small cannons on the side, a large cannon in the middle, and the Dwarf Leader, perched on top of the contraption.

I cast Ice into the air, Serge cast Magmabomb, which hit the Ice spell, forming Antipode. I jumped into the air, and hit the spell with my sword, hitting the large cannon. The two cannons each fired an Icicle Spear, one at each of us. Serge cast Aeroblast at the left cannon, causing a great deal of damage. But after the attack, the two Dwarves began repairing the machine. I cast magnify, followed by Serge casting Carnivore. The spell smashed the two Dwarves on the side of the machine, killing them. The two side cannons shot a pair of GravityBlow spells at us knocking us to the floor. Serge cast Strengthen on me, and I jumped into the air, cast Strengthen on myself as well, and and came down with a powerful blow, destroying the left cannon. The machine then rushed forward, trying to ram us with its spiked 'grill'. We were able to avoid the attack. Serge threw his swallow at the othe side cannon, almost breaking it off, I followed with another jump-slash, knocking it off completely. At this point, energy was drawn into the main cannon. "Omega Yellow!" shouted the Head Dwarf. The immense blast of energy hit me, sending me flying into the cave wall. Serge used Revive on me, then turned to face the machine. He cast Icicle Spear, and the spear got stuck in the cannon. When it tried to fire again, it merely exploded, killing the last Dwarf.

"Thank you for saving us!" we heard from a tiny voice.

Several Fairies came out of hiding. They healed us, and fed us as thanks for stopping the Dwarves. We searched the island a little more, but we did not find my sword. We then returned to the boat to head to another island.


	6. Sand Demon

We had made our way back to the boat.

"Everything go okayCHA?" asked Korcha.

Serge and I looked at each other before turning back to face Korcha.

"In a manner of speaking." we replied simultaneously.

Serge told Korcha to head to the Earth Dragon Isle next. He told me that Earth Dragon Isle was like a desert. I found it interesting that throughout the many differentislands of the El Nido region, there was such a varied climate. Serge said that was interesting, though most people didn't think about it much. People were pretty laid back, living as though they were in a tropical paradise, which in many ways, it was.

On the way to the next isle, Serge pointed out the town of Guldove, which was Korcha's hometown. Korcha said we could talk to Steena, should we not find my sword on Earth Dragon Isle. It sounded as good as anything I could come up with, so I agreed.

"Here we are." said Serge as the dull sand colored island came into view.

We landed, and Serge and I climbed out of the small boat. We had to cover our eyes from the sand, which the wind was whipping around at the time. We walked a short ways into the island, when Serge stopped.

"We have to stand in the middle of that sand pit." he said.

"Are you sure?" I asked, hesitant to jump into a sand pit.

"I've done it many times before. We'll be okay." he replied as he hurried forward and dissappeared in the middle of the sandpit.

"Well, I guess I have no choice." I said as I followed suit.

When I opened my eyes, I was sitting on a small ledge overlooking a small cavern. There were waterfalls composed entirely of sand. It was actually quite a beautiful picture. Apparently, I was a little too engrossed in the scenery because when I stood up, I slipped on the sand, and tumbled down to the cavern floor. Though the sand cushioned the fall, it still stung.

Serge told me why the sand always came down as a waterfall. He said that there were spots in the cavern that would shoot sand back up to the surface. From there, it would come back down through the sand pits scattered across the islands, thus the sand waterfalls were always there.

When we made our way to the main chamber, we looked around for my sword. After searching for a short time, having not found it, we decided to leave. Before we could though, a small earthquake hit. As we turned back to look in the main chamber, we saw an odd looking whirlpool in the sand. It would appear for a short time, then dissappear before returning at another spot. Every time the whirlpool appeared, a small quake would hit. Obviously, this waasn't natural, so we decided to investigate. We climbed down to the lowest level, where the mysterious whirlpool kept appearing. Upon its next appearance, we ran over to the disturbance. As soon as we were within ten feet or so of it, something jumped out of the whirlpool! It appeared to be a giant skeleton with some sort of orb-like monster between the top and bottom halves. Serge and myself jumped backward from shock, and then quickly grasping the situation, we pulled out our weapons, prepared to fight.

I charged forward, with a powerful strike, but stumbled as my weapon passed right through the creature. I rolled back onto mt feet on the other side and quickly yelled, "It's made of sand! I can't hit it!"

Serge decided to attack the orb monster in the middle. Though he was able to do damage, the orb immediately healed itself after the attack. Obviously, weapons were useless, thus we resorted to magic.

Serge cast Luminaire, with no effect. I tried casting Deluge, and it too seemed to have no effect. After casting the spell though, the sand composing the beast seemed to harden.

The legs then sank into the sand, causing a damaging earthquake. Upon their return, I told Serge to try another melee attack. He charged the legs and scored a solid hit!

"The water hardens it!" I said as I attacked the legs as well.

I hit the legs soundly, but it countered with an earthquake attack. The torso approached Serge and spikes flew out from its chest hitting Serge. Serge and I then hit the legs with an X-Strike. The legs then absorbed some of the life from the orb in its midsection.

"We have to take it out quickly!" I shouted as I cast Ice 2 on the creature once more, making sure it stayed vulnerable.

Serge attacked with a cyclone slash, causing a critical hit. The legs caused an earthquake again as the torso hit me with the spikes this time. I cherged forward, sword thrust forward, shattering the lags with my blow. The orb and the torso remained as they floated in midair. After the legs were gone, the torso began using an umbilical cord thing, that would attach to one of us and steal our life. Each time it would do that to one of us, the other would have to cut it off. The torso's attack's became much more fierce once the legs were gone. It took longer to destroy the top half because it would take life from us as well as the orb. After a little while, it took the last life of the orb as it died and fell to the ground. And just as it did with the legs, it attacked more frequently and fiercely once the orb was gone. But, with less to heal itself from, we soon finished it off.

"It's always something." I said as I cast some healing spells on us.

"Let's head back to the main island. There are a few places we could search there." said Serge.

So, we headed back to Arni village. It was getting late, so we stayed there for the night, and set out the next morning after a hearty breakfast. We headed through the mountain pass, but instead of heading west to Termina as I expected, we headed north to Vipor Manor.

"There's someone here who might be able to help us." said Serge. "His name's Dario. He's an extraordinary swordsman. More than that, the Manor has quite a treasure room. Perhaps your sword is there."

We walked up to a most impressive building, where there were many children running around and playing outside. We walked up to the front door, where we were greeted by a maid. Serge said we were here to speak with Dario. the maid had us wait just inside the door, as she went to get Dario. A few minutes later, we were greeted by Dario.


	7. Finally Found It!

"Serge! It's been a long time! How's Arni?" spoke Dario.

"Well. The village is doing well." replied Serge as he motioned toward Omega. "This is a friend of mine, Omega Zeal. I've been helping him search for an important item that he seems to have lost. We were wondering if it might be somewhere in Vipor Manor's treasury."

"Sure. Come in, please. I am Dario." he said as he motioned for Serge and Omega to come inside. "What exactly is it you are looking for?" asked Dario.

"My Weapon, the Omega Blade. I have an important battle upcoming, and I'll need my sword to do well." I said.

"Must be quite an opponent. After seeing the way you fight, it would have to be someone, or something really powerful." said Serge.

"Correct you are, Serge. I must fight myself, or, to be more accurate, my double. He is absorbing all of his doubles to make himself more powerful. I am the only other one left. In a manner of speaking, I am fighting every double of myself that existed in any other dimension." I told them.

"Wow. That sounds like it'll be quite the battle. Here we are." said Dario as he opened the door to the treasury. "All weapons are kept in the area." he said as they walked to one side of the room.

"This is all of them?" I asked.

"Yes, is it here?" replied Dario.

"No, it isn't. But thank you anyway." I said with a slight smile on my face.

"Perhaps Steena can be of help. We should head over to Guldove next." suggested Serge.

"Alright." I replied.

"Would you two like to stay for dinner tonight? You do look a little famished. You could head out in the morning." said Dario.

Serge and I agreed. We first got cleaned up while dinner was being cooked, then we sat down and ate a delicious meal while conversing with Dario. I learned more of Serge's adventure, and of his dimension travelling experience. We also learned how Dario turned the Manor into an orphanage. Serge asked if Dario wished to join us on our quest, but he declined. He needed to stay here to take care of the children. After dinner, and some more conversation, Dario showed Serga and I to our rooms for the night. That night I had an odd dream.

I dreamt of my childhood. Particularly of a friend I had back then. He was an orphan, shunned by all the other children. I alone became his friend.

The dream was of me fighting him, but I had never done such a thing. Before I could pursue the dream further, I awoke. Serge and I ate breakfast, said our goodbyes and thanks to Dario, then headed back to Termina.

We had to look for Korcha, as he was running around town, but that didn't take long at all. He asked where we wanted to go to next, and Serge told him, we wanted to speak with Steena. He took us to Guldove, and Serge brought me to Steena's hut. Because Serga and Steena were friends, we were allowed to enter. I told Steena my story, and that I needed to find my weapon. She told me that we could find what I was searching for on the Island of the Dead. After thanking her, we made our way to leave. Serge had exited, but Steena called for me to come back before I left.

"Yes?" I asked.

"There are other matters that trouble you." she said.

"...yes." I replied.

"You have had a strange dream." she said.

I simply stared, shocked that she knew.

"In the future, the message your dreams are giving you will come to pass. That is all I can say." she then sat down, going back to her business.

I left, thinking about what she said to me. Serge asked if I was okay, and I said I was fine. Now was not the time to mention my dream to him, because I still didn't know what it meant. 'Message of my dreams' does it have something to do with the boy I once knew? Only time would tell, I suppose.

Korcha took us to the Island of the Dead. He didn't want us to be gone for long, because he was scared of the place. Serge and I continued inland, looking for my sword.

Before long, we had come to the center of the Island. We saw nothing. Just as we were about to leave, something started to rise from the ground. First we saw a scythe, then its body came up.

"Lynx?!" said Serge.

"Time to fight?" I asked.

"You know it." replied Serge.

We pulled out our weapons, and readied to fight. We did an X-Stirke, knocking Lynx backa few steps. He then stuck a hand out at us and said 'Forever Zero'. The powerful black magic attack knocked the wind out of us, but we were able to wheather the attack. Serge cast Luminaire, and I cast Supernova, and together we finished off Lynx.

"You knew him?" I asked Serge.

"Just a shadow of a past enemy. Happens a lot around here. We probably ought to go before something stronger appears." he said.

"Alright." I replied, a little dissappointed that we didn't find my sword.

When we got back to Korcha, he mentioned seeing some take off in another boat in a hurry with something shining like the rainbow with them. Instantly I knew that someone had taken the sword just before we got there. I told Korcha to hurry after whoever it was. Soon we arrived at Termina, just in time to see a ship leave for the mainland. We had to wait before another ship was ready to leave for the mainland, and then we bid farewell to Korcha, and had to wait until the ship docked at Porre. Once we had arrived, we asked some locals about the mysterious person. A few of them said that he was last seen just outside of town. As we followed, I noticed where a portal had been opened recently.

"He used a portal here. Let's go." I said as I used my pendant to open the portal.

When we reappeared, after a little searching, we discovered that we were in the year 1002 AD. Not knowing just where to start, we headed north toward Guardia Castle...


	8. The King of Guardia

We made our way north to Castle Guardia. After passing through Guardia forest, we reached the outer gate of the castle. A few guards stopped us at the gate, and asked what our business was at the castle.

"We are searching for an important item. I was wondering if anyone at this castle might have information regarding it." I told them.

"What is it you're looking for." asked the guard skeptically.

"A weapon. A very rare sword that shines with the color of the rainbow." I told them.

"Sounds like the King's sword." said one guard to the other.

"I go and inform His Majesty." said the other guard as he left, hurrying inside the castle.

"Wait here for a moment." said the remaining guard.

A few moments later, the guard returned with a half-dozen more guards. None of them looked very friendly at the moment. They asked us to relinquish our weapons and armor to them before going inside. Serge and I complied with the request. After giving them our equipment, however, they bound our hands and feet in shackles, and took us to the prison. We didn't understand what was going on, and when we tried to ask, they told us to be quiet, or else. Though Serge wanted to break free, I suggested that we obey, for the time being. We were placed in adjacent cells, with a guard posted at both of them. An hour later, the chancellor arrived and informed us that we would be put under questioning, and later, possibly a trial. Serge asked why this was being done to us, and he replied saying, that circumstances appeared that we were attempting to steal from the castle. He said he would return shortly, and begin questioning us, seperately. Another few hours later, he returned with a number of guards. I was to be questioned first, it seemed.

"Who are you?" asked the chancellor.

"I am King Omega Zeal, of the Magical Kingdom of Zeal." I replied.

"I've never heard of such a kingdom. What do you want with the King's Sword?"

"I search not for your king's sword, but my own, called the Omega Blade."

"You must be searching for the King's Sword, for it is the only weapon that shines like the rainbow as you said."

"Any weapon made with rainbow shell material will shine like that."

"How do YOU know about the rainbow shell?!"

"It is a rare, strong substance. Why do you seem suprised that I know of such a material. I thought knowledge of this substance was common."

"That is all for now." said the chancellor as he stood up and left the room.

The guards returned me to my cell, but they did not take Serge for questioning. I assumed that my responses required more direct action. Perhaps they went directly to the king with my 'interview'. We stayed in the cells for about 3 days, before the chancellor returned.

"The King has requested to speak with you directly." he said as he ordered the guards to escort myself and Serge to the throne room.

A few mintues later, we arrived in the throne room. The king had bright red, spiky hair. He still looked quite young, which suprised me actually. The queen, was a very beautiful blonde, who also seemed to be quite young. Looking at their faces, the king seemed to be quite concerned, while the queen, seemed to be more curious that anything else.

"I was told your name is 'Omega Zeal'. Is this correct?" asked the king.

"Yes it is, my lord." I replied.

He turned and looked at the queen briefly, with a more suprised look than it had been before. He then faced me once more.

"Do you know anyone by the name Schala, by chance?" he asked.

My eyes widened as I looked at him after hearing the question.

"Ye...yes! My daughter's name is Schala!" I replied. "I also have a son, named Janus. You know them?" I asked.

I could see a hint of excitement in the queen's eyes upon my response. If the king's attention was not fully upon me before, it certainly was now.

"So then you truly are the King of Zeal?" asked the king almost rhetorically.

"Yes, I am." I replied.

"We once visited the Kingdom of Zeal, but we never saw you there."

"It's a long story, but I am sure that you would like to hear it, now."

I then proceeded to tell my story to the King and Queen. From when we first discovered the presence of Lavos' and the change in my wife's demeanor, up to when I arrived at the castle. Knowing its relevence, I asked Serge to tell of his adventure as well. Both the King and Queen kept their full undivided attention toward our stories. Once we had finished, the king leaned back in his throne.

"So, we didn't kill Lavos...just delayed his plan. And Serge, you and your friends, also fought Lavos, and saved Schala in doing so. But the creatures we beat were merely tools of the real Lavos?" asked the king.

"Correct. And i know why Lavos wants Schala. Her power is incredible. Not only that, but her power is absolutely pure. If he were able to make her power his own, nothing could stand up to him ever. More than that, I believe that she may be the only one who can truly destroy him. Since his power is so immense, it would take a pure power that could exploit his weakness to defeat him. And his weakness? Emotion...in particular, love. He draws his power from evil. He puts the seed of evil into living things, and as that seed grows, Lavos gains strength. That is how he corrupted my wife. I think he has once again captured Schala, but he hasn't taken her power, because he needs to be at his full power to do so. As I told you, when I fought him, three pieces broke from him. He needs those to regain his full unbridled power. I have one of those pieces, so I know that he would have to kill me before having the chance to take Schala's power.

"Before I can search for him though, I must stop my double from killing me, as that could prove to be disastrous. That is why I must find my sword. You see, the thing that sets my sword apart from other rainbow shell weapons is the fact that I am a part of it, and it is a part of me. When some men say that their weapon is an extension of their body, they mean it as a metaphor. In my case, it rings true. My weapon truly is an extension of myself. I cannot battle at full strength without it." I said.

"We do not have your sword here. But I once devoted my life to destroy Lavos and save this world from him. And now that I know that he is still alive, I must stay true to that promise." he then stood up. "I, Chrono, will accompany you on your quest. I will not rest until Lavos is truly gone."

"Me too!" said Marle as she jumped from her throne.

"No." said Chrono. "It is much more serious and dangerous this time. Besides, you have to take care of the kingdom while I'm gone."

"But, the chancellor.." she was cut off.

"NO! You are absolutely not coming this time. I'm not going to argue with you! I said you are to stay here, and that's final!"

Chrono could see that what he had said, upset her.

"I'm sorry, but I've got a feeling that what we went through before will be nothing compared to this battle. I don't want to lose you. And like I said, I need you to take care of our country during this time." Chrono went to Marle and kissed her. "Don't worry. We'll take care of this."

Chrono then ordered one of his guards to fetch his equipment.

"It is getting late. We can head out at daybreak.


	9. Ozzie's Fort

Early the next morning, Serge, Chrono, and I left Guardia Castle.

"Where to we go from here?" asked Chrono.

I closed my eyes and meditated for a minute.

"East. Whoever took my sword has gone east. Not quite as far as Medina but about halfway between here and Medina. " I said.

"I think Ozzie's fort is near there. Can he still be alive!" said Chrono in wonder.

"Well, let's start east anyway. We can get on a boat for Medina, and get off near Ozzie's fort." I said as we walked east to the docks.

We reached the docks and were able to get tickets for the next ship headed for Medina. Before heading out, we spoke with the captain to let him know that we would be getting off halfway through the voyage.

Since the ship would not leave for another half hour, we decided to go back to town and get a few supplies, in case we needed them. We bought mostly potions, but also got a few other items in case one of us succumbed to a status condition.

We headed back to the docks and boarded the ship and waited to leave. The voyage itself was uneventful. When we saw the island as the ship neared it, we prepared to jump. The captain had a schedule to keep and couldn't stop the ship, and there were no docks on the island. So, the three of us jumped into the ocean and swam the rest of the way to the island. After we got on the shore, we checked our supplied to make sure we hadn't lost anything. Even though it was in the middle of the day, the sky was very dark on the island.

"Ready?" I asked as Serge and Chrono simply nodded.

We walked through the dark, damp forest expecting to fight through various creatures, but oddly enough, we fought none. It was too quiet. After finding our way through the forest, which took an hour or so, we had finally reached Ozzie's fort. As we walked up to the door, it opened on its own. We had our weapons ready, knowing that something or someone was waiting for us.

The main hall was quite beautiful, despite the fact that the darkness gave it a dreary look. As we began to climb the staircase, a number of skeletons simply appeared around us from seemingly nowhere.

"Heads up!" said Chrono as he cleaved the one in front of him in half, before it knew what happened.

Serge and I handled the other with ease as well.

"We had better keep our eyes peeled." I said.

That much was obvious though after this first encounter, although it was brief and easy. The path forked at the top of the stairs. We took the left route first which came to a dead end. There was a button at the end of the path though, and hesitantly I pushed it.

Nothing seemed to happen, and we had not run across anymore creatures as of yet. We headed back to the main hall and took the second path. It also ended in a dead end with another button as well. After pushing it, we heard a loud grinding noise. The path we were on was unchanged, so we retraced our steps once more. As we reached the main hall, we noticed a new, third door that had previously been a wall.

As we were about to open it, bats, skeletons, and zombies appeared all over the main hall.

"Try to finish them quickly!" I told Serge and Chrono.

There were a lot of them, but I didn't want to waste too much time fighting these undead beasts.

Serge cast Holy Light, as Chrono used his Cyclone technique, while I Followed up by casting supernova.

After the spells and techs were over, the beasts that were not dead were stunned and weakened. The three of us finished off the rest of them with simple sword maneuvers.

"Let's hurry before more show up." said Serge.

The three of us hurried through the new door, and followed a long straight hall. Once again, there were no enemies of any kind.

We reached a large, strong door at the end of the hall. It opened with a long, loud creack.

The room beyond was a large open room and three figures stood in the room.

"My Sword!" I said as I saw my Omega Blade in the hands of one of the figures.

"Who dares enter my fort without permission?" shouted the short green figure.

"The one looks much like Magus, though it is not him." said the tall, slender blue figure who wielded the Omega Blade.

"Well in any case they are all quite ugly." said the feminine looking one.

"I'm Ozzie!"

"I'm Slash."

"And I am the most beautiful Flea!"

Ozzie, Slash, and Flea formed a triangular formation and readied themselves to fight.

"This might not be easy." I said as I readied to fight as did Chrono and Serge.

Flea cast fire in the middle of the room and Slash ran through it then at Serge hitting him with a Flame Sword attack. Ozzie cast carnivore hurting all three of us. Serge attacked Flea with a combo, Chrono attacked with a jumping slash attack that Slash easily parried, and I cast Iceberg on Ozzie who seemed to take little damage from the magic.

Flea cast an Ice spell into the air. Slash jumped up into it and Ozzie grabbed Slash's legs and began to spin him around rapidly, sending shards of ice flying in all directions.

"We're going to have to try some multi attacks of our own." I told Serge and Chrono.

Serge began to spin his Rainboe Swallow above his head. Chrono cast Lightning2 on the weapon as I cast Fire2 on his weapon as well. As Serge continued to spin his weapon, Bolts of lightning and balls of fire were thrown at all three of their enemies, sending them all to the floor.

"Ultimate Attack! Ready Slash? Ready Flea?" said Ozzie as they prepared their magic.

They formed a perfect triangle, and Ozzie cast lightning, Slash cast Ice, and Flea cast fire. Delta Force was the result. The powerful triple tech magic hit us and hurt us badly. I stood back up and thought for a secone before coming up with an exceptional idea.

"On the count of three, cast Luminaire!" I said.

On three, Serge, Chrono, and myself all cast Luminaire simultaneously. The result was far more powerful than I had thought. The wave of light each of us emitted would bounce of each other sending a more powerful shockwave. As they kept hitting each other, the three waves of luminaire increased in power exponentially, until it became one massive wave of light energy.

After the smoke had cleared, Ozzie, Slash, and Flea were nowhere to be seen. The room they were in was nearly destroyed. The ceiling was gone, there were holes in the walls, which were barely standing. The Omega Blade was on the ground where Slash had been standing. The destruction cause by the attack had been incredible. Omega quickly and carefully grabed his weapon from the floor.

"We had better get out of here before this place collapses." I said.

Chrono and Serge simply nodded. They were both still shocked at the power of their combined attack. Just as we exited the fort, it came crashing to the gorund. Nothing remained except for a pile of rubble.

"Maybe we had not use that attack except in extreme circumstances. Sound good to you two?" I asked.

Serge and Chrono agreed.


	10. Battles and Dreams

Omega, Serge, and Chrono had just left the fort, when Z appeared in front of them. Omega knew he was going to reappear soon after regaining his sword.

"Chrono, Serge. Stay back. I must fight this by myself. Don't try to assist me in any way. Well then, 'Omega'. Shall we battle?" said Omega.

"Yes, I am curious to how you fare, now that you've regained your weapon. En Gaurde!" shouted Z as he dashed towards Omega with his sword.

Even though Z dashed with speed making him almost invisible, Omega brought up his Omega Blade just fast enough to block the attack, theough the force behind it shoved him back some distance. "Nicely done." commented Z as he stepped back for his next attack. Omega rushed at Z as swung his sword overhead at Z. Z disappeared, and reappeared behind Omega preparing to slash his weapon. Omega had anticipated Z's movement when he attacked, so Omega spun around mid-slash, changing it to an upward stroke with increased force due to his spinning around. Their swords clashed and sparks flew, as Z was sent flying into the air by the powerful attack. Omega then jumped while casting Aeroblast at the ground underneath him, giving him a greater boost into the air as he readied to attack Z again. As he neared Z, Z cast ICe2, then shattered the block of ice with his sword, causing thousands of shards of ice the fly down towards Omega. Omega endured the attack as he began one of his own. He cast Black Hole towards Z, to draw Z to him, and at the same time, he cast Gravity Ball below him, increasing his speed into the air. As the reached melee range, Omega swung his sword into Z, sparking it against his armor, and causing them to switch places so that Z was between Omega and the ground. Omega then began rapid-fire casting Gravity Ball on Z, exponentially increasing the speed at which he fell to the ground. Z hit the ground, forming a crater as hit hit with incredible force. Omega stabbed his sword into the ground as he landed, creating a powerful Earthquake attack, as large pieces of ground rose from the ground and fell back down on top of Z.

"How's that." said Omega as stood back on his feet.

Then in a burst of light, all the rock and debris on Z was vaporized by a Luminaire attack.

"Better, but not enough." said Z as he attacked again.

He began teleporting to all sides of Omega, stopping only long enough to cast a spell on him. Unfortunately, he was to fast for Omega to block or counter attack. After a few more attacks, Omega fell to the ground, and Z stopped his assault.

"You have improved much, but I can tell you still have much untapped power. For that reason, and the fact that battling with you is amusing, I will let you live a while longer, so that you may strengthen yourself more before our third and final meeting." said Z before he disappeared.

"Omega! Are you alright?" asked Chrono and Serge as they ran over to Omega to see how badly he was injured.

"Well, he did let me live, so things could be worse." replied Omega.

"But he said he would fight you again, and that it would be the last time." said Serge.

"Considering the improvement I had from our first encounter to this one, I do not think we will need to worry." answered Omega. "For now, let's find a place to rest."

The three waited at the shore for a few hours until they saw the ship making its' route from Medina. They caught the captains attention and were brought onboard as they rested until reaching the town of Guardia where they stayed a few nights back at the castle recouperating from their battles. Omega had more dreams about his childhood friend, among other things.

During his dreams of his old friend, he often saw the appearance of a second moon. It was much larger than the normal moon, and it was blood red in color. Omega figured that the moon and his old friend had something in common, though he didn't know what. He also dreamt of a futuristic city. He saw many scientists going to a fro, and sometimes he saw himself among them. He also saw some places of the El Nido Archipelago during that dream as well. Perhaps that city is hidden there somewhere, he thought.

He then saw Schala in his dream.

"Schala! Where are you?"

"I am trapped by Lavos. While he waits for you to find him, he is seeking other ways to increase his power. Even now, his power has increased greatly from when you first battled. It is difficult for me to see all that he does, but I think he may also be trying to find ways to revive himself should he be defeated again. I do not know where it is that he has me trapped, and I am sorry I cannot help you find me any more easily." she said to him.

"Schala...I'm coming for you, please. Don't worry." he said as he slowly began to wake.

After a hearty breakfast, Chrono, Serge, and Omega were once more ready to depart.

"Where do we go now?" asked Chrono.

"Back to El Nido. There is something there, I know it. I've been dreaming of it these past few days. A futuristic city of sorts. I saw myself among scientists and such." said Omega.

"I know what you're talking about!" exclaimed Serge. "Chronopolis. It was a city that was devoted to the study of different times and dimensions and how travel through them might be possible. It was built far into the future, but apparently in a time travelling experiment, the entire city was sent back through time."

"Then we head for Chronopolis." said Omega. "But first, I must speak with an old mentor of mine."

The three left the castle, and headed into Guardia Forest. There they accessed a portal and appeared at the end of time.

"Gaspar!" said Omega as he walked towards him.

"Oh? Hey! How are you Omega?" replied Gaspar.

"I'm doing well. I came here because I needed to ask you about something."

"Ask away."

"When I was a child, do you remember an orphan that I befriended, that everyone else hated?"

"Hmm? Let me think for a minute...Crest was his name, I think. Yes, I believe I remember him somewhat, why?"

"I have been having dreams of him lately. Dreams of the two of us battling, fighting. But we never fought when we knew each other." said Omega.

"Very strange. Perhaps it has something to do with your future. Though, I hope that is not the case, as it could be very bad." said Gaspar.

"Why is that?"

"It will take me some time to remember the details, perhaps if you came by later, I will have remembered enough to tell you." said Gaspar.

"Very well." said Omega as he turned back towards Chrono, and Serge. "Off to Chronopolis then." he added as they headed for the teleporters.


	11. The City of Time

As they approached the teleporters, one of them lit up as someone began teleporting in. After a brief moment, the figure had fully appeared, and Omega recognized the person as his son, Magus.

"Janus! Is that you?" asked Omega.

"I've not been called by that name for many years. Now I am known as Magus, but you do look vaguely familiar to me." said Magus as his expression began to change to one of suprise. "Fa...father?"

"Yes, it is me. I've finally made my way back to my homeworld. I am sorry to what happened to our family. I, unfortunately, was unable to prevent Lavos from tearing our family apart." Omega told him.

"I wondered what had happened to you. You simply vanished one day without a trace, and I never saw you again until now." replied Magus. "Where did you go?"

"The gurus and I discovered that Lavos was taking control of your mother. We also learned that Lavos' true self was elsewhere, and that the beast sent to this planet was only a tool of the real Lavos. They helped me open a portal leading to where Lavos was residing. I'd hoped that if I could beat him there, that his beast would disappear, and all would be well. But it turned out that he was far more powerful than I had anticipated, and I was unable to defeat him fully. He opened numerous portals, and I was drawn into one. Since then, I have been travelling from dimension to dimension trying to find my way back home. I am glad to see that you are alright." said Omega.

"If, by alright, you mean alive, then yes. But when mother woke the beast, I was drawn to the future. A little before 600 A.D. A mystic warlord found me and 'raised' me. I'm certain the only reason he took me in and eventually made me leader of the mystics is because of the power I held. He feared me, and wanted me as an ally instead of an enemy. As I discovered my powers and abilities, I spent my time searching for the beast in hopes of destroying it, and finding Schala." He then looked over at Chrono. "I joined with Chrono and the others and we defeated the beast, but I never found Schala." Magus said.

"Me and my friends found a part of Lavos that was trying to merge with Schala, and we destroyed the beast, saving Schala...but, we don't know where she went or what happened to her after that." added Serge.

"Schala spoke to me in a dream a few nights ago. Lavos has once more captured her. He wants to take her power for his own, but he cannot do so until he is once more whole." Omega told the others.

"Whole? What do you mean?" asked Magus.

Omega then proceeded to tell about his initial battle with Lavos and how the three pieces were broken from him, and how one had absorbed itself into him.

"He is waiting for me to come to him, so that he can take back the piece. If he regains all three, he could be able to take her power. If that happens, then all is lost." said Omega.

"I have devoted my life to stopping Lavos and finding Schala. I'm coming with you to end this once and for all." said Magus.

"Thank you. The more of us there are to fight Lavos, the better our chances of stopping him. We are headed for the El Nido Archipelago. I believe there is something important there I must find." said Omega as they returned to 1000 A.D.

They got a ride on a ship to El Nido and soon arrived at Termina. There, they stayed for the night to rest, as it was late upon their arrival. Once morning came, the left Termina and headed south towards Arni Village. Once there, they were able to hire a fisherman to boat them to the edge of the Sea of Eden. They entered the nearby cave and not far inside, it came to a dead end.

"We needed the Masamune when we entered this place." said Serge.

Omega slowly walked to the wall of the dead end and stretched out his hand towards it. Strangely, the wall disappeared, leading to the open space of the Sea of Eden.

"It looks so different." said Serge.

"That's because this is twenty years before you came here." said Omega.

Out in the middle of the confined sea, they saw the empty city of Chronopolis. As Omega stepped towards the water, a small walkway rose from the sea, leading straight to the city.

"It's almost if it or someone is expecting us." said Magus.

"I suppose we'll find out who then." added Omega as they crossed the walkway to the city.

"I wonder why it was abandoned." asked Omega to nobody in particular.

"I remember," began Serge,"when we were here before, we saw some ghosts. Of some of the people who lived here. When the city was thrown back in time, it somehow pulled a floating tower from an alternate timeline. The tower was ruled by reptilian people called reptites. There was a great war between them, and the reptites lost, though many from Chronopolis were killed. The Tower fell into the sea and became the Sky Dragon Isle. Other than that, the only other island here was the isle of Eden. The people of Chronopolis created the other islands and moved people to them, to study their lives here and in other dimensions, I think. After awhile, many of the people left Chronopolis to live amongst the people of the islands and eventually integrated fully with them. If all the people from Chronopolis went or not, I'm not sure. That's all I know about the city. Oh, and the theories the were using for their study of time travel were from someone names Lucca." Serge told them.

"That's not too suprising." said Chrono. "She always was a genius. And she was always curious about how we were able to travel through time."

They finally reached the entrance to the large city. They went inside, and it was deathly quiet. Not even the slightest noise of wind or a scurrying little animal could be heard.

"Seems like this really is a ghost town." said Omega as they looked around inside the city. "Such advancements! I wonder from how far in the future this city came from."

They soon came across a part of the city containing offices. Omega stopped suddenly when he saw what was written on one of the doors.

"What is it?" asked Magus as he looked at the door too. He was just as suprised.

On the door it read, 'Omega Zeal's Office'.

Without saying anything, Omega went inside and looked around. There were many file cabinets, completely full of papers and files. Omega spent some time looking through some of the files.

"Apparently, I founded this city in 3324 A.D. after coming across some ancient artifact of unknown origin. It's strange properties caused me to start this city, to study its effects on time." said Omega aloud as he continued to read the report silently to himself. After a few moments, he figured out what the artifact was. "The artifact, it was another piece of Lavos! That means it must be here in the city! That's why the city was thrust into the past during their experiment. Because it was only a small piece, it was unstable, causing the experiment to display unstable results."

Omega then looked around some more and found a map of the city. "Here." he said as he pointed to a place on the map. "That's where it's held."

The four of them quickly made their way to the room where the piece was held. They came to the door of the room, which was locked.

"I can get us in." said Serge as he put his hand on the plate next to the door.

"UNAUTHORIZED USER. ACCESS DENIED."

"I don't get it. I was able to get in when I travelled here before." added Serge.

"That was in the future. Perhaps something changed between now and then." said Omega as he placed his hand on the plate.

"OMEGA ZEAL. ACCESS GRANTED."

They entered the large spherical room. In the very center was a small orb, with many wires and other objects connected to it from the walls of the room. It glowed with a faint aura as they looked at it.

"What do we do with it?" asked Magus. "Do we destroy it?"

"No, we can't destroy it unless we destroy Lavos. It is part of him. No, we must take it so that Lavos cannot get it." said Omega as he climbed the steps leading to the orb, containing the piece.

"What are you doing!" exclaimed Chrono.

"The power of Lavos flows through the piece. Through it, Lavos can take control of its host and use them for his purpose. I have lived for a long time with a piece in me, and I have the willpower to subdue the fraction of his power the pieces contain. I can safely contain the piece and its power in me." said Omega.

"That may be true, but if you collect all the pieces, Lavos would simply have to defeat you, and he would be able to get everything he needs, to be unstoppable. In short, you are making his search easier." said Magus.

"True, son, but if I do not take it, then who will? Who has the strength and willpower to supress such a power? You, Magus? Perhaps if you had been raised in the light instead of a cloud of darkness, you might be able to do so. Unfortunately, because of Lavos, that is not possible. You have trained yourself in powers of darkness, and it would be easy for Lavos to use that in controlling you. Even if Lavos had not interfered with our family, and your mother and I were able to raise you they way we wished, you might not have been able to do so either. Your mother, was the most caring and loving person I have known, save perhaps Schala. She was raised in the light, and even she was tainted by Lavos without the inner force caused by these pieces. Do you think Chrono or Serge could hold them? I have seen Chrono's future, and I know of Serge's past. And there are things there that prove to me that they could not bear the burden upon themselves, though I know they are more than willing. I understand your concern, Magus. And I understand your resoning as well." Omega stopped for a moment.

"I do not mean to be harsh or cruel to you, son. I just know that because I have bore the burden already that I know for certain that I can handle it. And should Lavos still be powerful enough that he could defeat me, us. I know what I could do to keep him from taking the pieces back. And I know that it would give you time to train your talents in areas and magics other than that of shadows. I know thatif I cant stop Lavos, I could delay his plan long enough for you to gain the strength you would need to stop him. You have great untapped potential in yourself. I just don't want you to try and carry such a heavy burden until you have more than enough strength to handle it."

Omega then reached into the orb, and the second piece of Lavos floated over to him and absorbed itself into him...


End file.
